The entire stadium was initially silent…
All the fans familiar with the Great Demon King, Sawamura, were dumbfounded at this moment.
In their minds, they had never seen anything like this before.
That man, who was capable of anything, the man who was undefeated and unstoppable…
He had just been hit with a home run!
He had just allowed two runs in a single inning.
The total score was now 2:3.
The Japan team, which had been leading by one point, was now trailing by one.
From the stands, there was the sound of many fans gasping.
Then, as a neutral group, the fans from Taiwan began clapping first.
They were cheering for the brilliant performance put on by the American player.
The fans of Japan, on the other hand, were like fools, completely forgetting to take any action.
In the American dugout, it was a sea of joy.
Who knew what they had gone through during this time? This game had almost been the most frustrating one they had played.
Facing a Sawamura who could not fully unleash his strength, they had been suppressed for so long.
It was so frustrating!
But now, all of that was in the past.
With the score and home run, the American players had finally been able to lift their heads high.
They could now face their opponents, the fans in the stands, the family and friends watching at home on their TVs and computers, and the fans, with their heads held high.
On the stands, those Japanese players who hadn't been able to play were all showing shocked expressions on their faces.
They were so familiar with Sawamura, they knew his power too well.
In their impression, Sawamura was basically unbeatable.
It was very difficult to even get a score off him, let alone score so many runs.
It was simply unbelievable!
"I've never seen Sawamura get hit with a home run before! It's like a dream..."
"Yeah, that guy is as sly as a fox, and usually never shows such a flaw."
The players murmured.
"Not only a home run, but giving up three runs in a game, is also a first, right?"
The discussions kept growing.
Although these Tokyo star players didn't think it was impossible, they did acknowledge that while Sawamura was strong, right now, he just couldn't fully unleash his strength.
Being hit with a home run might be emotionally hard to accept, but from a theoretical standpoint, it wasn't impossible.
No matter how powerful Sawamura was, he was still just one person—a regular person.
He didn't have superpowers, so how could he guarantee that he wouldn't give up runs?
Moreover, everyone has their off days. No one walks through the river without getting their shoes wet.
Even the best pitchers can make mistakes.
Isn't Narumiya Mei a beast?
Probably no one could say otherwise.
Even with the monster Sawamura around, Narumiya Minoru's strength was well recognized.
Among players of his age, even if he's not number one, he's certainly among the top.
But even such a pitcher had been hit with home runs multiple times in past games.
In fact, when you think about it carefully, Sawamura's situation seemed even more incredible.
After all the time he had spent pitching and the number of balls he had thrown,
he had hardly made any mistakes and had never been hit with a home run.
And it wasn't like he was only facing weak opponents.
As the national champion, Sawamura had faced numerous tough teams. Many difficult games had been pitched by him.
Despite facing the best players in the country, Sawamura had achieved such impressive results.
"Now that I think about it, this guy really is terrifyingly strong!"
Shirakawa said thoughtfully.
His companions around him went silent.
From people's subjective impressions, Sawamura was indeed powerful, but there were also other top national pitchers who could definitely go toe-to-toe with him.
After all, many games were quite evenly matched.
Especially Inashiro; it didn't seem like they were much weaker than the Seidou High School baseball team.
But if we look at the numbers and disregard people's subjective impressions, people would realize that the Great Demon King's strength was beyond words.
A single person, not a machine, his performance would naturally fluctuate.
But what was truly remarkable about the Great Demon King was that, even when he wasn't in his best form, he could still perform reliably and defeat his opponents.
"This game today shows that even the Great Demon King is just an ordinary human."
In the 9th inning, the tides turned.
The suppressed American team made a comeback and overtook the score.
At this point, the chances of Japan winning were slim.
Up until now, the Japan team had only gotten three successful on-base hits.
This meant that unless the first three batters could get a hit, Sawamura wouldn't even get a chance to bat.
And even if he did, given the American team's previous actions, a walk was highly likely.
In short, no matter how you looked at it, the Japan team, which had been overtaken in the 9th inning, was essentially out of the game.
This was something everyone could see clearly.
The catcher, Renji, called for a timeout.
Then, with a guilty look, he ran up to the pitcher's mound, facing Sawamura, unsure whether to speak or remain silent.
Honestly, he really wanted to say something.
But at that moment, he didn't know what he should say.
Words of comfort? Or an apology?
It wasn't a hard decision to make; in fact, it was quite easy.
"It's my fault!"
Renji took the initiative to speak, wanting to shoulder all the blame.
In fact, he believed most of the fault was his. Even if not all of it, certainly the majority.
If he had caught Sawamura's high-level breaking balls, things wouldn't have reached this point.
They would have easily defeated the opponent and secured the win.
"It's not your fault, I underestimated the situation."
Sawamura was also quite frustrated.
Actually, just before pitching that ball, Sawamura had a bad feeling, sensing that something was wrong.
If he threw the ball with that trajectory, there was a high chance it would get hit.
Having this ominous premonition, Sawamura temporarily adjusted his pitching angle.
At the moment of release, he put more pressure on the ball with his two fingers.
Such a powerful spin meant that even if the bat made contact, the ball wouldn't go too far.
Combined with the change in angle…
Sawamura was confident that, even if he couldn't end the duel decisively, at least he could make the opponent struggle.
But he was overconfident, and reality slapped him hard in the face.
Who knows whether it was a fluke or if the American fourth batter was just that strong?
Or maybe it was both.
In any case, the bat hit the ball squarely, sending it flying far beyond the field.
The ball soared into the stands, and someone caught it for a home run.
Honestly, for Sawamura at this point, it was quite a novel experience.
He had forgotten the last time he was hit with a home run like that.
Two runs scored in a row, and the score was overturned…
…